The thin man
The Thin Man (Engl. The Thin Man ) is an American detective novel by Dashiell Hammett from the year 1934 . It was Hammett's last novel. He wrote the book after not writing a novel for about three years due to his alcohol addiction. The first German translation by Peter Fischer was published in 1952 by Nest-Verlag, Nuremberg . In 1976 the Diogenes Verlag , Zurich , published a new translation by Tom Knoth , which has been used since then.
action
The book begins with the first-person narrator being approached at the bar in a speakeasy in New York by a young woman who knows him from before. She asks him if he's Nick Charles and maybe he can tell her how her father Clyde Wynant is doing . She hasn't seen him in years, but she's looking for him. This Clyde Wynant is the eponymous "thin man" of the novel.
Nick Charles used to be a detective but now looks after his wife's fortune. Nevertheless, he goes on a search, always being supported by his wife Nora and accompanied by her dog Asta . This constellation results in scenes full of situation comedy , similar to the screwball comedies of Hollywood. The novel also thrives heavily on a multitude of eccentric and bizarre characters who only find their way to the truth very gradually.
At one point, Hammett told his partner, the playwright Lillian Hellman , that the character of Nora was modeled after her, which she was very pleased about. However, according to his statement, the naive young woman and the evil protagonist are also inspired by her.
filming
The novel was filmed in 1934 with William Powell as Nick Charles and Myrna Loy as Nora . There were minor deviations from the novel. So was z. B. gives the impression that the thin man is Nick Charles . Also, the movie dog is a fox terrier , while in the novel he is a schnauzer .
The successful film was continued with the films After the Thin Man from 1936 (German: ... and something like that is called detective ; nowadays mostly runs under After the Thin Man ), Another Thin Man from 1939 (German: Another thin man ), Shadow of the Thin Man from 1941 (German: The Shadow of the Thin Man ), The Thin Man Goes Home from 1944 (German: The thin man returns home ), Song of the Thin Man from 1947 (German: The song of the thin man ) - each starring William Powell and Myrna Loy.
From 1957 to 1959, Peter Lawford and Phyllis Kirk played the two amateur detectives in a 72-part TV series.
The characters of Nick and Nora Charles in the 1976 film A Corpse for Dessert were caricatured as Dick and Dora Charleston ( David Niven and Maggie Smith ).
Web links
- http://www.krimi-couch.de/krimis/dashiell-hammett-der-duenne-mann.html
- “We should go out to eat, I'm thirsty” story in EVOLVER.at
- “The Destruction of the Thin Man” story in the EVOLVER.at archive
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Thin Man in the Internet Movie Database (English)